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A trio of Hillcrest Hornet football stars signed National Letters of Intent Wednesday to continue their athletic careers, although one of them will trade the gridiron for the surrounding track.
Bryce Wagner was an all conference defensive end for Hillcrest who just became a third generation Missouri Southern State Lion. His grandfather and Uncle both suited up for MSSU.
“It’s amazing. I hope my son one day becomes a Lion,” Wagner said. “It’s a great football program. I’m really excited. I know I might be redshirted but I’ll work for it and trust the process in everything I do.”
Malachi Beckham, son of Hornets head coach John, will head to Texas’ Southwestern Assemblies of God Univeristy to play fullback. SAGU has some former Hillcrest assistant coaches on staff, adding to Beckham’s comfort level.
“I was super blessed,” Beckham said. “I couldn’t do it without my family. My dad as my coach helped me tremendously. That was one of the big time reasons I went down there and played.”
Finally, Erik Savage, a speed threat quarterback and receiving option for Hillcrest, will head to Southwest Baptist track and field. He’s Hillcrest’s all time fastest 200 and 400 meter dash runner. He lost his sophomore season to a quad injury, but returned to form as a junior, including a fourth place finish at the Class 4 state meet.
PICTURES: NATIONAL SIGNING DAY – CLICK HERE
“Last year I just talked to the [SBU] coaches for a little bit and they were definitely interested,” Savage said. “I wanted to stay around to be near family and stay with my church. When I went on the visit there I just fell in love with it. They had everything I wanted just from an education to just keeping me driven trying to become closer to God and a better Christian. They had everything I was looking for in a college and made it really easy.”
